This Organized Life

Hi Friends! Today I am joined by Kristen Manieri who is a writer, mindfulness teacher and host of the 60 Mindful Minutes podcast. I invited Kristen onto our show during this crazy time of COVID-19 to talk about how mindfulness can help to reduce stress (something we are all dealing with during quarantine!). During our conversation, we talked about: Kristen’s journey into mindfulness How mindfulness has given her coping strategies to become a more patient mom What to do if you struggle with quieting your mind, or even finding the time to get started Helpful tools to keep inside your “toolbox” How to keep from passing your anxiety onto your kids or spouse The link between outer order and inner calm Resources, including books and apps to guide you along the way (see links below) Kristen shares advice for parents who have younger kids who miss their friends, and are tired of being cooped up at home, but may not have the language or maturity to articulate how they are feeling. Today is a great day to begin your

A special thanks to our good friends at CURIO-PRESS for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! They have an incredible line of personalized stationery, lists & notepads. Visit CURIO-PRESS.COM and enter the code ORGANIZED at checkout to receive 15% your entire order *Please shop local when you can, small businesses have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 and appreciate your support. For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations  click here Hi Friends! On today’s show I am joined by repeat guest, Logan Palau (my 16 year old), and we are talking all about being environmentally conscious. Logan also shares her favorite web browser that is actually helping to clean the ocean! Listen to the episode to hear what it is! Did you know that April 22nd marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day? Below is a list of 10 things you can do (or not do) to help make a difference in your home and community: 1. Rinse your bottles and jars, cans – clean empty and dry. 2. Pizza box recycle – you have to rip off the grea

A special thanks to our good friends at CURIO-PRESS for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! They have an incredible line of personalized stationery, lists & notepads. Visit CURIO-PRESS.COM and enter the code ORGANIZED at checkout to receive 15% your entire order *Please shop local when you can, small businesses have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 and appreciate your support. For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations click here Hi friends! Parents of school-aged kids, you are in for a treat today.  Joining me (via zoom) is Dr. Amanda Benolken, Supervisor of Educational Technology and Innovation at New Hope-Solebury School District.  Throughout the past 12 years, Amanda has held positions as an elementary teacher and instructional coach, and in addition to her “day job,” she currently serves as an adjunct professor at Gwynedd Mercy University teaching graduate leadership and curriculum courses and a dissertation advisor. So needless to say Amanda is no joke. In addition to her impressi

A special thanks to our good friends at CURIO PRESS for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! They have an incredible line of personalized stationery, lists & notepads. Visit CURIO-PRESS.COM and enter the code ORGANIZED at checkout to receive 15% your entire order *Please shop local when you can, small businesses have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 and appreciate your support. For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations  click here Hi Friends! How is everyone doing?  April is here, and I can pretty much bet that in your wildest dreams you never thought you’d be kicking-off Spring quarantined in your house. Today folks, you’re in for a treat because I have the better half of the Palau duo joining me today;  The one and only, laundry loving, note card taking, sneaker loving Josh Palau! BTW, if you haven’t listened to his past episode appearances, I’ve included links in the show notes below. In light of our current climate, today we are talking all things Marriage, Work and Social Distancin

     A special thanks to our good friends at CURIO-PRESS for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! They have an incredible line of personalized stationery, lists & notepads. Visit CURIO-PRESS.COM and enter the code ORGANIZED at checkout to receive 15% your entire order *Please shop local when you can, small businesses have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 and appreciate your support. For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations click here     Hi Friends! At the release of this episode, many of you will be on week 2 of quarantine. How is everyone holding up? It’s crazy to think about how COVID-19 has affected the things we take for granted, like the freedom to work, play and socialize without restriction. But rather than focus on the negative, I invited SBO Partner, Mary Cornetta to chat about how we can all pivot with grace during these unprecedented times. To look at the brighter side of things, let’s take a moment to highlight some things that we now have permission to do as a result of self

Hi Friends! Everyone is on high alert, and with good reason.  From quarantines, to bare shelves, and indefinite school closures, everyone’s schedules have turned upside side. Working Parents are now finding themselves without childcare, and parents of school aged kids have been thrust into the world of online/homeschooling. Let’s not forget to take into account all local and small businesses who rely on clients and customers to pay their bills, who are impacted, (either by people not using their services, or from having to temporarily close)— adding a layer of financial stress to an already complicated equation. Despite unprecedented uncertainty, one thing is for sure, you are not alone in this. In times of crisis, we’re often faced with the unknown which can be incredibly frightening and overwhelming. It’s in these moments that I recommend first hitting the pause button. This may seem counter intuitive, especially if you are someone who is a DO-er.  Instead of turning to panic, consider taking a step back, t

     A special thanks to our good friends at CURIO-PRESS for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! Check out the AMAZING discount at the bottom of the show notes, exclusive to the TOL community!   For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations click here     Hi Friends! Today I am joined by new friend, Alexis Austin. Alexis is the founder and CEO/Mom-Boss behind Curio Press— a family owned stationery company based in St. Louis Missouri. Alexis and her beautiful products have been featured in St Louis Business Journal, Saint Louis Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Brit+Co, AND right here on This ORGANIZED Life podcast! I connected with Alexis several months ago and was inspired by her story. I invited her on TOL to talk about her journey as a wife, mom, small business owner and everything in between! She shares how a health scare that changed the trajectory of her life, resulted in her building a company alongside her husband, and living her passion. “If we can make even the most mundane tasks like jotting

A special thanks to our good friends at CURIO-PRESS for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! Check out the AMAZING discount at the bottom of the show notes, exclusive to the TOL community!  For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations  click here Hi Friends! Today we are talking all about removing the stress from tax prep. Full disclosure, I find the entire process completely overwhelming so I was glad to call in an expert to break it all down! I invited Lisa Greene-Lewis from Turbo Tax to join me on today’s episode to share some tips, strategies and solutions.   Lisa is a CPA, with over 20 years of experience in tax preparation. She has held positions as a public auditor, controller, and operations manager. She has contributed tax articles to local, national, and online publications, including US News & World Report and Huffington Post. Lisa has also appeared on various news broadcasts, the Steve Harvey Show, and the Ellen Show. During our conversation, Lisa and chat about things like: Mis

Hi Friends! I’m always trying to come up with ideas to help make the process of purging and organizing more fun. Because let’s face it, I realize that most people don’t consider purging a pantry on their top list of “fun” activities! I do however, think that doing boring or mundane tasks with a friend makes it more palatable (ever hear the phrase misery loves company?) And if you’re like me, you never have enough time to spend with your girlfriends. So what if there was a way to combine the two? I’ve been listening to people both IRL & “on-the-line” who want to thin out their closet, but are either too tired or frankly, unmotivated to actually do it. So I began thinking about creative ways that didn’t cost any money, add more work to our already overscheduled lives, and may actually get people motivated to clean out their closets. “What if I invited our friends and neighbors over for an open house for a Community Clothing Swap?” Community Giving Back De-Cluttering Food  Girl Times So here’s the rules:

Hi Friends! Today I am joined by Karen Purze, author of Life In Motion: A Guide for Gathering Life’s Vital Details, a workbook to help people get their affairs in order. She blogs about end-of-life and emergency planning at lifeinmotionguide.com. Whether you want to be better prepared for medical emergencies, learn estate planning basics, give your children the gift of clarity when you pass, or help your aging parents plan for the future — she is the go to expert in this arena! “When my parents both got sick suddenly and simultaneously, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I needed.” The first thing she learned is that she could have been better prepared, and has since developed a toolkit to help others. I asked Karen to come on our show to share her story of why she left a successful career in tech to start a business focused on helping people tackle some of life’s most difficult areas. We talk about things like: What information is included in the Life In Motion Guide Key i

Hi Friends! For today’s episode we turned to YOU, our listeners, readers, and followers to answer the questions that you want to know. I am always impressed with the questions you have; some are funny, some are more serious, and others relate to running a business. I even learned a thing or two about Erika along the way! We received lots of emails and DM’s, and narrowed the list to 15 questions, so if your question wasn’t answered, or  if there is something else you’d like to know, shoot us an email to info@simplyborganized.com.  We read each and every one! Now for the fun stuff…..drumroll please! 1. What is the Partner Program? Who is it for? 2. How long have you been married? And where did you honeymoon? 3. Do I travel for the Clutter Clinic™? 4. What is your favorite color? 5. Am I writing another book? 6. Why does Erika take off for the summer? 7. How many clients do you see? And who or what type is your favorite client? 8. What is your favorite food? 9. Was your house organized growing up? 10. Do your hu

Hi Friends! Today we are joined by my IRL friend, Gail who graciously shares her story of losing her mother, then watching her active father’s health decline soon after. She talks about the emotional toll it took on her and her sisters, each of their families, and what it was like switching roles from daughter to caregiver. Gail shares will all of us the information she wished she had known in order to be better prepared: everything from health proxies, to power of attorney, and making sure your Will is updated. We can’t truly prepare for death, but there are steps we can take to help ease the burden of financial and legal hurdles that compound an already stressful situation. I appreciate Gail’s honesty and vulnerability during our conversation and I hope you do too.  Before we started recording, she turned to me and said “If I can help one person feel more prepared than sharing my story is worth it.” xo- Laurie Please support us! SUBSCRIBE to TOL to have new episodes downloaded each week! REVIEW

Hi Friends! Today Erika & I take a different approach to getting things done. Instead of sharing our thoughts on how to structure a To-Do list, we are talking today about creating a TO-DON’T LIST. Yep, you heard me correctly!  I was so sick and tired of thinking about all the things that I had to do, I decided to create a list of things that I have control over that I could eliminate from my day. I set some ground rules: 1. It had to focus in one of two categories: RESPONSIBILITIES or RELATIONSHIPS 2. Whatever gets added needs to be SPECIFIC and describe the ACTION, rather than the FEELING. So here’s a snapshot of what I came up with: Responsibilities: 1. I will not look at my phone first thing in the morning or after 9pm / Instead I will establish more healthy habits of quiet time, meditation, reading, etc to start and end my day. 2. I will stop making my kid’s beds, put away laundry, empty dishwasher/ Instead I will empower them to own the process and set expectations of when it must be completed. 3. I

A special thanks to our good friends at Organized Living for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations  click here Hi Friends! If you have ever stood in your closet and thought “I have nothing to wear,” THIS is the episode for you. Today I am joined by color specialist, Jeannie Stith-Mahwinney, founder of yourcolorguru.com, a company she started to help women shop smarter.   Jeannie shares her story of frustration with her own wardrobe, and how she developed a system to make shopping and getting dressed super easy. I took the assessment, and the results were both shocking and amazing! It has completely transformed how I shop, and has simplified the entire shopping experience for me. We talk about things like: Where people tend to go wrong when it comes to clothes shopping Jeannie’s step-by-step process What to expect after taking her assessment I can’t wait for you to listen to the episode!  Meet us over in our facebook group This ORGANIZED Life to join

A special thanks to our good friends at Organized Living for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! For sponsorship inquiries and collaborations click here. Hi Friends! As the New Year gets underway, I am always looking for ways to stay motivated. Sometimes that means learning something new, but other times it means pulling out some tried and true strategies. On today’s episode, Erika and I talk about several simple decluttering tips; some you may have heard of, and others might be brand new to you. The one thing they have in common is that they work! Perhaps not all of them for you, but there is enough variety on this list you are sure to find something that gets you motivated. You’ll want to listen to the full episode to hear our take on each of these, but for all my readers, here you go!    Give yourself 5 solid minutes to declutter something everyday. It can be as simple as cleaning a drawer, putting away laundry or purging old papers.  Give away one item each day.  Fill one trash bag per da

A special thanks to our good friends at Organized Living for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! For sponsorship inquiries click here. Hi Friends! Today we are joined by my friend, Rose Lounsbury. Some of you may remember Rose from episode 92 where she shared her journey to Minimalism. Since then, a lot has happened…Rose has become a bestselling author, a TEDx Speaker and has been featured all over print and tv including USA Today and NPR. Rose has been on a new minimalism quest: financial freedom from debt, and I asked if she would come on our show and share her personal story with all of you. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST PEOPLE! Rose has never discussed her financial journey publically, and I am so grateful that she choose TOL as the place to share her story. Some of the topics we discuss include: How the evolution began to live debt free What her process looked like How it impacted her day-to-day life The conversation with her kids about their new lifestyle Rose has some great suggest

Hi Friends! Happy 2020!  I can’t think of a better way to kick off the New Year (and decade) than to invite my friend Theresa Finnigan to share some organizing tips with all of you. Theresa is the director of marketing for Organized Living, and no stranger to This ORGANIZED Life. She was a guest on episode 38 and 102.   Today we focus on 2 specific areas: Pantries & Closets. Theresa’s practical and on-trend solutions have made her the expert trend spotter and problem solver she is today. Her organizing tips have been shared nationwide in television shows and in national publications. She is chock full of ideas to springboard you into action!  I can’t wait for you to LISTEN, LIKE and SHARE with your peeps! Make sure to check out our helpful links below. Happy Organizing! Laurie P.S. A special thanks to our good friends at Organized Living for sponsoring this episode of This ORGANIZED Life! For sponsorship inquiries click here Organized Living are giving 20% off all freedom rail systems during the e

Hi Friends! Today we are wrapping up part 3 of my conversation with Enneagram teacher, and fellow 8, Joey Schewee. If you haven’t already listened to parts 1 & 2 of our conversation, I encourage you to hit the pause button and go check them out.  In our earlier conversations Joey walked us through the characteristics of each of the 9 numbers in the enneagram, including where each struggles and shines. Today we begin to look at the link between each number and their unique relationship to clutter. I pose the question “do certain numbers on the enneagram have a tendency to struggle more with Physical Clutter, Emotional Clutter or Calendar Clutter?” And if so, why? Unlocking this question could be a huge game changer in how we approach the process of decluttering and living a more organized life. I can’t think of a better guest to help me close out 2019! I look forward to diving deeper into this topic as we embark on a new decade. I hope this series has challenged you to look deeper into your motivations and

Hi Friends! Today we are back with part 2 of my conversation with Enneagram teacher, and fellow 8, Joey Schewee. If you haven’t already listened to last week’s episode, I encourage you to hit the pause button and go check it out. Joey Schewee has been a student of the Enneagram for more than twenty years, studying under her mother, Suzanne Stabile, otherwise known as the Godmother of the Enneagram– author of The Road Back to You and The Path Between Us. Last week we spoke about the aggressive numbers, focusing quite a bit on  3’s, 8’s (since Joey & I are both 8’s and Josh is a 3). We also talked about how easy it can be to mistype numbers by looking at BEHAVIOR vs MOTIVATION. Our conversation picks up with the 7’s and then moves into the dependent (1, 2, 6) and withdrawing (4, 5, 9) stances. I hope you enjoy part 2 of my conversation with Joey as much as I did. P.S. If you are a student of the enneagram, I’d love for you to participate in my study between clutter and your enneagram number CLICK HERE to le

Hi Friends! This is the moment you have all been waiting for…well, maybe it’s the moment that I’ve been waiting to share with you;  my 3-part conversation with Enneagram teacher,  and fellow 8, Joey Schewee. Joey Schewee has been a student of the Enneagram for more than twenty years, studying under her mother, Suzanne Stabile, otherwise known as the Godmother of the Enneagram– author of The Road Back to You and The Path Between Us. As Joey shares on the show “I have known the enneagram longer than I haven’t.”  This perspective and insight flows through all aspects of life including dating, marriage, motherhood, managing employees and navigating the corporate and educational realms. If you are not familiar with the enneagram, this is a great introduction to understanding things like What is the enneagram? What do each of the 9 numbers represent? How do find out my number? If already know your number, Joey dives deeper into Triads, Stances, and Orientation to Time. There’s so much rich content that we couldn’